There is a perception in North America that there is a problem with vehicles not obeying the school bus extended stop sign and flashing yellow lights, both of which are displayed while children are boarding and de-boarding school buses. Teknisult has conducted several high level feasibility studies that would identify offense volumes, as well as assess the performance of the CrossSafe system, to determine if a school bus stop sign photo enforcement program (the first of its kind in the North America) is feasible in this school division and province/state.

Teknisult, in consultation with representatives from the participating school divisions across Canada and USA, installed the CrossSafe system on School Buses for the purpose of performing live tests and to collect statistical information on the volume and nature of the offences. The data, in the form of SD data cards, was sent to a processing centre where the data was analyzed, video and still images were acquired and saved, and several reports were prepared.

The CrossSafe system which was installed is part of a customized, one of a kind complete turn-key school bus stop sign enforcement system. This solution has been created solely for this application, and is able to undertake all the required tasks for this kind of enforcement - from acquiring violation video, to processing those violations and sending tickets to violators. For the purpose of these pilots, a 2 camera system was utilized. The 2 camera system has both cameras facing the same direction (forward) - one with an environment/stop-sign view, and the other more zoomed in to acquire license plate information.

After conducting this pilot, an additional unit modification has been considered. Namely to have additional “zoomed/license plate” cameras added to the system, which would each have the focus adjusted to different lengths, or in other words be “lane specific” cameras. This modification could be very useful in urban settings, where it was found violators often times were 2 or 3 lanes away from the bus. This patented addition will improve license plate acquisition from violating vehicles several lanes away from the school bus.

Typically, bus driver involvement is required in order to proceed on any school bus stop sign violation. The bus driver is required to observe a violation and then is required to write down the plate and vehicle information in a log. In order to proceed further, the bus driver must then go to court to testify. Even after all of these steps, the violating vehicle is not always ticketed. This current system does not allow the bus driver to focus all of his/her attention on the children both on the bus, and those embarking and disembarking. It also requires the bus drivers to take up both their time, and the school division’s time going to court.

The CrossSafe system takes this onus away from bus driver. The system is fully automated, freeing up the bus driver to fully concentrate on their main duties. The violation are then processed, from video acquisition to subsequent ticket mailing and court package creation, allowing the school division to focus its resources on the usual and required tasks, and for bus drivers to focus on the safety of the bus passengers. Photo enforcement has been demonstrated across North America to reduce speed and red light running incidents at the intersections at which it is in use. This reduction in turn reduces the accident and fatality rates at those locations. It is believed that the CrossSafe system would similarly reduce the number of vehicles passing through the extended school bus stop signs, and in turn reduce the occurrence of possible vehicle collisions with students.

This system is unique in the fact that it does not share any resources except Bus Power of 12VDC through the Bus run/Aux key switch. All other functions are completely independent, thus guaranteeing complete privacy and security between the 2 DVR units.

The 4 Port D1 LPR (License Plate) DVR is specifically designed for capturing vehicle license plate data with 2+ views per direction. Eg, using the special Teknisult Bus camera Part #TKC, each video image will contain a broad overview of the infraction and a zoom close up video of the license plate information. This LP DVR will collect GPS data and embed this information (Long/Lat/Speed) directly into the video for secure and accurate positioning of the infraction. This DVR will only activate video recording when the Stop Sign is extended, thus eliminating any public privacy concerns. The LP DVR will only capture Stop Sign Drive Bys and record only those infractions. The LP DVR will record all video, GPS, Vehicle Identification, Route, Time & Date information on a removable SD Memory card. This SD card will be removed and processed on a schedule dependence on the number of infractions. The processing of this data is confidential and is already protected. This LP DVR includes a locking faceplate that locks out all functions, access to the SD card and access to the network port. Only the DVR activity lights are viewable when this locking plate locked in place. This locking plate and consequent access to the recorded video on the SD card will only be accessible by certified ticket processing staff.

The 2 Port In-Bus DVR is an above standard mobile DVR used for many mobile video security applications. This DVR will also record all video, GPS, Vehicle Identification, Route, Time & Date information on a locked, removable Hard Drive. This Hard Drive will only be accessible by School staff for student/driver video management.

Both DVR units, the LP DVR & the School DVR share only the Bus Power. They have individually and independently lock video access with the LP DVR having a more secure locking system. The entire Dual DVR can also be locked in a steel housing protecting both units simultaneously. Each DVR will have its own processes and procedures for video access, remote access and video management policies. Both DVR units are rated for extreme environment operations of -40°C to +70°C, 30 second startup to full operation, 300 G Force impact while operating and full mobile vibration resistance. The TKD DVR is a special combined housing allows for a secure, compact, complete solution for School Bus installations.

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